


Who told you this was a good idea?

by Faline



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Boyd is badass, Boyd-centric, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-14
Updated: 2013-10-16
Packaged: 2017-12-29 09:52:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1003985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faline/pseuds/Faline
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Vernon Boyd knows he was the smartest one in the room. Of course he was. He's the only one here to do their damn homework because you just know that none of these idiots even thought to check the fine print before letting a grown man with huge teeth and super-sideburns gnaw on them in lieu of any sort of responsible guardianship agreement."</p><p>In which Boyd refuses the Bite and kicks ass twice as hard</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Vernon Boyd knows he was the smartest one in the room. Of course he was. He's the only one here to do their damn homework because you just know that none of these idiots even thought to check the fine print before letting a grown man with huge teeth and super-sideburns gnaw on them in lieu of any sort of responsible guardianship agreement.  
  
So yeah. Smart enough to ask the obvious questions, like "What do you get out of it?" and "How do I control this thing?" and "What do you mean you don't really know? Are you kidding me with this amateur salesmanship?"  
  
And he's not gonna lie, it was hard to say no. To turn his back on the strength and the senses and the _pack_. To say no to having people who would look for him in a crowd and smile across the room right at him and not someone standing behind him.  
  
But he was smart enough to know that saying no wasn't the end of it. It wasn't that easy. Now he knew to look for the furtive conversations and wide, panicked eyes. Now he could recognize the suddenly gifted athleticism and instant muscle tone for what they were. Seriously, though. Subtlety! Look into it, mythical creatures.  
  
All too soon, it became obvious that they were in way over their heads. You didn't have to even try to look for that. But he still did. At first he saw Isaac and Erica. How they smiled and preened walked tall like they owned everything in sight and you had the privilege of being here. He learned to quickly change course in the hallways rather than having to keep looking at the walking reminders of who he could have been.  
  
But then he saw the bitter twist in Erica’s lips and the tense challenge in Isaac’s eyes. And he saw how Stiles stumbled through the hallways, tired-eyed and jumping at shadows and sometimes - sometimes - flinching from his best friend.  
  
And how Lydia kept blanking mid-sentence only to startle back into awareness with fear on her face. _Lydia Martin_ was _scared_ and that was terrifying.  
  
And there was Derek Hale, skulking in the foliage on school grounds in a way that didn't seem suspicious at all.  
  
And maddeningly enough, nothing seemed suspicious to anyone. Nobody was looking and nobody saw and everyone missed the signs, even when they were practically tripping over bodies on their way to work.  
  
And the Sherriff was so in over his head that Boyd had to wonder if the people who _knew_ were even trying to do anything but get out of this whole mess alive.  
  
\------  
  
So maybe Boyd wasn't done with it all just yet and after the ninth school announcement about mountain lions and the dangers of taking midnight walks in the woods, he skips last period and heads over to the only vet in Beacon Hills.  
  
Vernon Boyd is good enough at math to know when two plus two equals an animal expert who's a little too into scapegoating mountain lions. And he's pretty sure mountain lions don't make habit of chewing on their prey indoors.  
  
It doesn’t take long to confirm that the good doctor knew more that he was letting the Sherriff’s department in on. And it doesn't take long to make his case. But it takes longer for the good doctor to listen and even longer to respond.  
  
They have words, well Boyd does. Not loud words, but heated, just the same. Angry words and helpless silences and when Boyd's words have petered out and he starts to wonder just what the hell he thought he was doing, and who the hell did he think he was anyway -  
  
He breathes deep and gives it one last try.  
  
"I know I opted out of all this crap. I am not looking to stir shit up. And, believe me, I do not want to be here. But my classmates are stumbling through this blind. I need them to live long enough to be able to walk away from all the shit they did stir up."  
  
Two hours after he walked into the Beacon Hills vet's office, Vernon Boyd walks out slightly more terrified than before. But at least he's got a plan and he's done with just watching.  
  
Vernon Boyd is a trainee werewolf paramedic.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. The two chapters collapsed into one.

 

It's a simple plan with just two goals - 1) help the hapless long enough for them to heal themselves and, 2) don't get caught up in any life-threatening situations. The part of him that kept his head down and got him through school so far isn't pleased at all and reminds him of what his grandma used to say. “Plan all you want, baby, but it’s everyone else’s plans that'll get you.”

The plan starts off simply too, with hours up late practicing how to suture fruit and binding broken hockey sticks at the ice rink over and over. Later on, he pries some supplies and old textbooks from Deaton and doesn't leave until he gets answers that don't sound like they came from a cagey fortune teller. Deaton soon passes him off to his sister. Boyd didn't see that one coming. Miss Morrell is more forthcoming but mostly answers in French because "we wouldn't want you neglecting your schoolwork, would we, Vernon?" He can absolutely believe they're siblings.

Sooner than he thought, he finds himself cornering Isaac at lunch and pushing a small bag across the table. "Drink this at around six. You and Erica, I mean. It should kick in by the time you get all hairy. It'll keep you calm...calmer. Until you can find an anchor."

He puts up a finger before Isaac can start. "No. Don't even. Just listen. I don't know Derek and you _barely_ do. You know who does? Doctor Deaton. He knows more about turned werewolves than either of you. And he says to take this at around six. Listen to the doctor."

Isaac thinks this over and Boyd lets himself smile a bit. "And how much do you know?"

"Thankfully, not too much. And don't tell me more, I don't want to know. Just - just let me know if you need...help."

He leaves pretty quickly after that.

The next morning Isaac smiles at him in first period and Erica sort of nods. Derek, though, seems to have a problem with this. He corners Boyd in an empty staircase between periods. Boyd makes a note to walk in a crowd from now on.

The conversation is stilted and short. Boyd makes it clear that he's basically just handing out werewolf valium and Derek makes it clear that super-secret societies should stay that way. Boyd agrees and offers to pack him up a modified first aid kit in case he's shot at again by another super-secret society. Deaton tends to bitch about stuff when it's late and he's tired. It's hilarious.

They go their separate ways. Boyd thinks it was easier this time around.

  
\------

 

Stiles corners him in the parking lot a week later for a first aid kit of his own. Boyd agrees and resolves to pay more attention to his immediate surroundings and not get snuck up on so often.

But it keeps happening and Vernon Boyd soon has a standing appointment once a week with Stiles Stilinski wherein they grind mountain ash, dry out herbs and quietly bond over their "old man" names and the sullen grouches in their lives.

He makes the mistake early on of giving Stiles his email address. His inbox gets spammed with strange and oddly compelling links. He considers blocking him after one with cats that look like pinup models but replies with the dancing hamster page from the 90s. He sends it twelve times in a row. It's a classic.

  
\------

 

Boyd blinks and months pass. He gets pretty good at werewolf first aid. And French. He’s still adamant about Not Getting Caught Up In This Nonsense but he’s pretty sure that he’s the only one who thinks he's serious.

Because now he’s part of a phone tree and his backpack looks like cross between a medicine cabinet and a witch’s grocery bag. He spends weekends with Stiles and Miss Morrell practicing how to throw up mountain ash circles like a pro. He goes jogging twice a week with Isaac and Erica and they don’t ever complain about the slow, easy pace. They sometimes go skating.

And he’s not quite sure when it happened but Vernon Boyd’s got people now. They call when they need his help and he goes. They text him lame jokes and he sends a few back. They sit with him at lunch and they look for him in a crowd and smile when they see him. It seems like all it took was a few moments.

So of course, that's all it takes to change it.

One moment, he's sure he's convincing Deaton that the werewolf bird-and-bees talk should come from an adult and the next moment just goes dim. He sees butterflies crowing the light out of the windows and has just enough time to hear Deaton yell "Wait, no-!"

Then all that's left is darkness and too little air and a rancid whisper in his face that breathes "...healer" before the pain comes.

The thing is, Vernon Boyd has always been the smartest one in the room. But he's only human and there's really no way to win against these kinds of odds, is there?

 

 


End file.
